—He should not have gone as coach in the first place – Compton Maycock Beckles

CYCLE coach Randolph Roberts,who accompanied a four-member team to the recently concluded Junior Caribbean Cycling Championships that were staged in St. Lucia, reportedly absented himself from a disciplinary Committee hearing on Tuesday last.According to a source close to the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF), Roberts was summoned to appear before the Disciplinary Committee to explain his absence during the Junior Caribbean Road Race where Guyana had four representatives in Christopher Cornelius, Raphael Leung, Jornel Yearwood and Andrew Hicks;all experienced and seasoned local riders from whom much was expected.
According to reports, on the day in question (July 31), Roberts complained of feeling unwell and told the team manager, Marc Sonoram, that he was experiencing a headache and so was unable to follow the race and feed (water) to the cyclists.This, according to reports, resulted in the cyclists becoming dehydrated during the 87.6km event that was conducted in very humid conditions.
However, former national junior champion and businessman Compton Maycock Beckles is questioning why Roberts could not have positioned himself along the 12.4km circuit and feed his charges on foot.
Beckles told Chronicle Sport that Roberts could have armed himself with bottles of water which every team is entitled to,and as the team members approach the point where he is positioned, they can get fed.
Chronicle Sport understands that when the locals (Guyanese) passed their empty bottles to the neutral feeders, the bottles were never returned to them, instead, the (filled bottles) were given to other riders and this left the Guyanese at a disadvantage.
Apart from Roberts, Sonoram accompanied the team as manager and was assigned a motor vehicle, but according to the rules governing the event, he could not have fed from the car and so he cannot be blamed for Roberts’ blunder.
Beckles,who managed a cycling team to the 1987 Pan American Championships,said Roberts should not have been appointed coach in the first place since he (Roberts) is not a qualified coach,and as such should not have been a part of the touring party.
“This is total nonsense, the same things keep happening year in year out, they (GCF) just appointing coaches who does not have the know how, who have maybe never saddled a bike at the local level, much less at the Regional or international levels” a very disturbed Beckles declared.
Beckles opined that a coach for a cycle team should be a qualified individual and preferably someone who is a former national cyclist who knows what it takes to be a champion “so there is no excuse for what has happened. This is total nonsense….Dwayne Gibbs would have been the perfect choice or even Enzo Matthews would have fitted in well…so this nonsense has to stop if we want our cyclists to get recognition” Beckles declared.
Quizzed by Chronicle Sport about the criteria used in selecting Roberts as the team’s coach for such an important activity,knowing fully well that he is not that qualified, the GCF’s source said Roberts was not actually selected by the executives of the racing committee, “but because he had one member of his Flying Ace Cycle Club on the four-member team, the Federation allowed him to accompany the team to St. Lucia” the source informed.
Roberts’ Flying Ace’s club member is Zaman Khan,who competed in the juvenile category and finished 23rd of 24 riders in the juvenile time trial and 31st of 34 starters in the five-lap road race for juveniles.
In the junior road race, there were 50 starters and only 37 completed the course with Cornelius finishing 16th, Hicks 18th, Leung 19thand Yearwood 28th.